Bringing in the Pond with iMovie

Unit of Practice #4: Microscope scavenger hunt

Title: Microscope scavenger huntThis unit helps students to understand that there exists pond animals
and plants that cannot be seen with the
naked eye. Students will take turns viewing different pond water
samples and compile a bulletin board of
different animals discovered. Students may even observe different
structures and behaviors of organisms to
classify them as plant eaters, predators, or even by name.

InvitationHow many animals can you name in the pond? In your list did you
think of any animals that cannot be seen
with just your eyes? Every drop of water can actually contain
dozens of animals busily feeding on algae or
hunting each other.

SituationsThroughout the course of a week students will be given the opportunity
to examine pond water samples and
contribute a classroom bulletin board collection or journal.
Students can print their pictures, write stories or
descriptions of animal behaviors, or save their findings in an ongoing
classroom pond portfolio or web page.

TasksMuch of the important life in ponds is actually invisible on site if
you cannot carry a microscope into the field.
Once the pond water is collected and brought back to the classroom,
this activity can be treated as a scavenger
hunt and exploration of the hidden aquatic world. Looking more
carefully at smaller organisms students can
observe what small fish, larvae, tadpoles, and other small visible
animals feed upon. It can also help to fill in
gaps in the students' understanding of pond food webs. By investigating
microscopic habitats students can be
encouraged to generalize certain behaviors from visible animals (e.g.:
eating, transportation, predator/prey
relationships) to all life forms big and small.

Students are given a list of things to find and a set of well labeled
samples. They are then invited to explore and
capture different evidence of microscopic life.

Divide students into pairs of investigators and schedule times for exploration.
Provide students with specific
categories to fill in and places to post their findings. Some
of the categories that can be used include:

A plant that contains chlorophyll.
An animal that harvests or eats algae or other plants. (Protozoan)
An animal that eats other animals. (Foraminifers)
An animal that is found that the top layer but not at the bottom.
An animal found in both the bottom and the top layer.
A worm like animal.
Animals which flow for locomotion. (Amoebas)
An animal that propels itself with a whip (Euglena).
An animal with cilia which look like hair. (Ciliata)
An animal with observable eyes.
An animal with a visible intestine.
An animal with color--not just transparent.

As an extension, take a scoop of the pond mud and allow it to settle
under a later of water. After 48 hours,
observe carefully for snails, worms, and insect larvae. Microscopic
observations should also be made. Once all
careful records are taken, allow the mud to dry as the water above
it evaporates. Discuss with students what they
think will happen to the life they observed. After students have
had the opportunity to write about and discuss
their predictions the teacher should re-introduce distilled water.
It is important that chlorinated water not be used
because it may kill some animals. Pond water should also
be avoided since it likely contains its own animals
introduced into the dried up pond. Students should
make another round of observations documenting which
animals can be found alive and which are not observed. Students
should be encouraged to discuss and imagine
how aquatic animals can survive such harsh conditions (encysting) and
why these characteristics would be vital
to their survival.

InteractionsThis is a cooperative activity that allows all students to contributed
to a common project. Students will be
observing, describing, drawing, and explaining their findings with
the whole class. While the teacher may need
to assist in the basic operation of the microscope and slide preparation,
the students can generally explore
independently and record their observations. A common question
board posted next to the microscope can also
be a venue to generate other student interactions and investigations.

AssessementAssessment is highly dependent upon age level and experience.
For K-2 , children conducting a scavenger hunt
should be assessed on their ability to recognize differences in shapes
and habits of aquatic animals, noting their
observations through pictures and oral presentations. Upper elementary
students should be able to recognize
plant from animals and look for common characteristics among animals
(e.g.: feeding, locomotion). Upper
elementary students should also begin to document their observations
in a writing journal with illustrations and
be encouraged to write creative stories for assessment. Middle
grade students should begin to learn basic
categorization of the animal kingdom while high school students should
be able to identify animals by name and
apply their knowledge of food webs, energy, and other biology concepts
to write a full scientific report on the
life in the pond. High school students should also be able to
design their own studies of pond water quality
based upon the kind and number of animals found.